This is my first mod attempt. Like, ever.
In the future, I would still love to include music, but haven't figured out how to do it yet. My attempts to simply copy the standard civilizations in Asset Editor have so far been unsuccessful regarding the music. I imagine this civilization as either using the Persian or Scythian themes.
If any artistic soul wants to help with custom 3D art, that'd be great, but I've at least included standard art and assets that are the most appropriate for the situation (e.g., I've re-used standard Historic Moment art and building assets for the Kushan uniques).
I also hope to update this with mod compatibility such as TSL as I learn how and have time.
My first inclination was to build the Kanishka Stupa as a true National Wonder that would require placement, but I couldn't figure out how to manipulate the art asset in the way I would need to fill the whole tile. I think placing it in the Tier 3 spot in the Holy Site was a decent alternative.
It's been an amazing journey. Learning how to use modifiers correctly took a lot of time, and the ideas for unique traits I started out with never came to fruition, either because they were impossible or ended up not fitting aesthetically. It's been a process of learning and adaption. It's also been a fun learning experience as I've gained more knowledge about the history of a civilization I had little familiarity with before.
Taking on the Kushan Empire appealed to me because it was obvious the two main traits would be something involving the Silk Road, and something involving the spread of Buddhism. The lack of information on the civilization has been a challenge, but has been rewarding.
I started out completely dreading the idea of having to do a custom leader animation, because I have no experience in computer graphic art and it seemed like a tall order. There weren't even any good 2D depictions of Kanishka I could use, which wouldn't have been a problem if I'd chosen a more modern civilization. The one image that is most commonly found on searches is the headless, armless statues of Kanishka found in Surkh Kotal, but for obvious reasons those were just not aesthetically acceptable. However, the coins of the Kushan Empire are one of their most interesting legacies, and so when I found really good images of coins with Kanishka on the obverse, I realized I could use it as my leader image and solve that problem altogether. (If you are wondering why the leader icon is a coin).
I've tested this game only a little, and not at all on higher difficulties. I had to cut it short because I wasn't spending as much time with the family as I'd like. Hopefully I can revisit this off and on as time permits, and adjust the balance as I get feedback.
Many thanks to everyone on the CivFanatics Creation & Customization forum who have answered my questions, or answered other people's questions (and thus indirectly led me down the right path). This includes Deliverator, raen, and isau, as well as Leugi for the Unit Asset Tutorial, Nycholus V for the Using Modifiers Tutorial, and Josh Atkins for the modbuddy template.
Please enjoy.
